Tenten's story: Uchiha vs Leaf
by BEBluvnaru
Summary: What would have happened if Minato went back and found Obito's body? It's not peace. As the Uchiha clan continues to get stronger, they eventually start the internal conflict that splits Konohagakure. Tenten and Shisui Uchiha meet during a tenuous time of peace. But Tenten is leaf and Shisui is Uchiha –so how will they be together?
1. Chapter 1

Summary:

I wanted to use an underdeveloped character this time and I thought Tenten was perfect. I paired her with Shisui, who I thought was enough of an independent thinker to keep up with Tenten.

The rest of the story is about what would have happened if Minato went back and found Obito's body? No Akatsuki, no fourth shinobi war, no infinite tsukuyomi. He likely would have lived through the nine tails attack years later. And unlike Hiruzen Sarutobi, the fourth hokage would not allow the massacre of the Uchiha clan. He stands against Danzo and allows Shisui to use his kotoamatsukami.

However, peace is not the alternative. The Uchiha clan continues to get stronger and eventually starts the internal conflict that splits Konohagakure. Tenten (who apparently has no last name?... I can't find one at least) and Shisui Uchiha meet during a tenuous time of peace. But Tenten is leaf and Shisui is Uchiha –so how will they be together?

Disclaimer: I own nothing. But I like writing stories about Masashi Kishimoto's characters.

* * *

The story:

Tenten walked, one foot in front of the other foot, across the beam. It was actually a fallen tree trunk, which had managed to hit the other side of the ravine at just the right angle, effectively creating a bridge. But the twelve-inch diameter of the trunk made it just enough of a challenge for Tenten that when she found the tree, she immediately marked this spot as her special place. She came here as often as she was able, in order to walk one foot in front of the other foot for thirty yards across the 100 foot drop of the ravine.

She never wandered any further on the other side of the ravine. It was known Uchiha territory, and though Tenten was fully confident in her skills with fuinjutsu and bukijutsu, she also knew she was no match for the average Uchiha and their sharingan in a head to head fight. She learned early on, part of being a good shinobi was knowing your weakness as well as your strengths.

But being so close to enemy territory was part of the thrill. Tenten needed the rush that came from that adrenaline. She had felt completely numb since Neji's death two years ago during the Konhogakure civil war. This was the only place that made her feel something… anything.

The village had been in a complete disarray since the war ended. Half of the clans were wiped out, and the rest were disbanded. Most of the non-shinobi citizens fled to towns in the outskirts of the Land of Fire.

Lord third had died in the war, killed at the hand of Fugaku Uchiha. Left to rule alone, Lord fourth, who did not have the cold and calculating mind that the job required, was unable to keep Danzo Shimura's ambitions at bay for very long. Konohagakure essentially became a full blown military state run solely by the centralized government. And anyone who knew anything knew the true dictator was Danzo Shimura.

No one was allowed in or out of the village without an official pass, so Tenten was lucky to be able to sneak over the wall to come to her special place a couple of times during the week. The village wall was now sealed and set with traps, most of which would kill you if you fell into them. But six months ago, Tenten discovered the unnoticed one gap that sat beyond the memorial garden.

One day while she visited Neji with Hinata, Hinata mentioned that there was a gap that Danzo had missed when he ordered traps placed around the wall. Only those with the byakugon could see it.

Tenten pretended not to be interested in this news, but later, she went back to the place where Hinata pointed. She was probably the only leaf ninja daring enough –or maybe stupid enough (according to many of her comrades) to tempt fate and try the gap. To see if she could actually make it over the wall without falling into some terrible genjutsu.

But Tenten decided that she carried a death wish. Neji's death had left a huge hole in her life, in her heart, in her entire being, that she could not seem to fill back up. She could not remember a time before they were friends. He was her family –along with Guy and Lee, though she could only take them in bits and pieces. And so many of her other friends had disappeared with their disbanded clans after the civil war, the hole just seemed to get larger and larger as time passed along. Since she had no clan and her parents died during the nine tails attack nineteen years ago, she had no one else. Tenten felt very much alone now, and at times, she was not certain if she wanted to live much longer.

Making it to the other side of the ravine, Tenten forced herself to stand there for a minute. Though she knew it was silly to think that the Uchiha clan would just pop out of the woods as soon as she set foot on their land, she still felt her heart beating hard inside of her chest. "Ooooh! That felt good."

As she turned to go back, she heard a rustling in the trees to her right. And then a shiruken whizzed by her head, slamming into the ground nearby. Shocked, Tenten backed up and lost her balance over the trunk. She fell on her butt on the ground next to the weapon. "Damn it!"

She grabbed for a scroll from her pouch. But before she could unwrap it to summon her weapons, a ninja landed on her stomach pinning her down with his knees. "Wooosssh!" He knocked the air out of her.

Two large red sharingan eyes stared down at her. He demanded, "What are you doing on Uchiha land?!"

She heard several voices call, "Spy! Leaf Spy!" from the branches of the trees.

'Shit!' She thought. She definitely had a death wish, and it was just about to be granted. She pulled a hidden kunai from up her left sleeve and slid it into her left hand. She used the weapon to stab up at the Uchiha on top of her. He was quick. He moved back before she made contact. But free from his hold, she was able to get up into a fight stance.

Then she heard a loud buzzing sound. It was an ominous sound, and it was coming right at her. She looked around to see a huge swarm of hornets coming at her.

"AAAAAH!" She screamed, waving her hands over her head as the insects came down at her, stinging her. She felt nothing but pain course through her entire body. Dazed by the attack and the searing pain, she stepped back again. Then she felt nothing but air, and she was free falling off of the side of the ravine.

'I'm about to die.' Tenten thought to herself calmly. She waited to hit the bottom. But instead she felt herself caught by a pair of arms… in mid air. And then she was in the river water. But there was no splash… she was just suddenly in the river. And then she was no longer in the river but on the bank.

The pain was still blinding her and she could not tell who had her. But she felt her rescuer lay her down on the bank. Seconds later she felt herself being lifted again and moved. Based on the sound of the wind whipping by them, they were moving very fast. Then Tenten passed out completely.

She awoke again several hours later. Hot and delirious with fever. In her delirium, she could make out a fire and its warm red sparks. She felt some one nearby her. Right next to her. Wrapped around her. Then the chill set in and her whole body shook. Her rescuer wrapped around her tighter. She leaned into the warm body and passed out again.

The next time she woke up it was morning. Her fever had broken and her rescuer was gone. She sat up to find herself covered in leaves inside a small cave. Her clothes were neatly folded next to her with her pouch, and the place where the fire had been, was now nothing but ashes. The only traces of her rescuer were the bit of bread and cheese and the cup of water that he or she had left near her clothes. She grabbed the water and sucked it down. She had never been so thirsty in her life.

She looked down at herself. She was in her underwear. Her stomach and her breasts were bond with bandages stained with dried blood. Carefully lifting the badges, she noted that she had stab wounds over almost ever part of her body. But she had been healed and bandaged with care. Then she remembered the ambush. The swarm of hornets –a genjutsu that the Uchiha ninja must have put her in as the rest of his brethren took her down with weapons.

Despite the supposed peace treaty, relations between the Uchiha clan and Konoha still remained hostile, but she had not realized it had gotten bad enough that they would actually kill her for just stepping over the border onto their land. She thought at most they would scare her off. Based on her relief that there was someone around to save her, she guessed that she never really did have an actual death wish.

With difficulty she put her clothes back on and ate the food left for her. Slowly she got up and limped out into the sun. She was never going to make it back like this. She felt too weak still, and she was already getting light headed. Maybe she could summon Ookami to carry her back. She reached in her pouch and then felt her head spin. Her legs gave way.

Before she hit the ground, she felt herself caught again by two arms. Dizzy, she looked up into the face of a young man. He had pale skin, black eyes, and short cropped black hair. His headband had the Uchiha embolim on the forehead protector.

A scream rang in Tenten's head, as she was too weak to actually scream. She was caught again. Were they back to finish the job? Tenten weakly tried to get away for the young man, but he held her tighter, picking her up and off her feet.

Despite her ineffective attempts to struggle against him, the young man carried her back to the cave and lay her back down on the bed of leaves. He looked down at her and stoically said, "you aren't strong enough to make it back to your village yet. I just left to get some medicine and some food. When you are strong enough, I will take you there myself."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two

Shisui Uchiha had been watching the young woman from the leaf village for several months now.

He stumbled across her one day, as he patrolled along the forest border of the Uchiha territory. After that day, he kept coming back to get a glimpse of her. Not only because it was an excuse to get away from the high pressure environment of his clan, but also because she interested him more than any other woman or girl ever had.

He could not figure out what drew the woman back to this particular spot to walk across the deep ravine like an acrobatic artist. She was a complete enigma to him. Nothing like the Uchiha woman he was use to dealing with.

Though she was pretty, she had not an ounce of refinement or constraint. Her face was always full of emotion, and usually sad. Strands of her brown hair escaped from her two side knots like wriggling snakes around her face. And she did not appear at all concerned about her appearance sometimes having dirt outright on her face and clothes.

Where had this young woman come from? Though she had the leaf symbol on her sleeve, she did not appear to be from any particular clan. There were no markings or a traditional style that Shisui could identify.

Crouched in the tree, wondering about all the questions that this stranger raised, calmed Shisui's racing thoughts. So he started to look for her. Coming back to this spot often to watch her from the trees.

The fact that she was a leaf shinobi, added to Shisui's curiosity. He did not know her from the time before the civil war when the Uchiha clan was still part of Konoha. He had been so deep in the ANBU from such a young age that he did not know many of the younger children outside of his clan. The young woman looked like she was a few years younger than him. Possibly his cousin Sasuke's age.

More than anything what she represented was the larger part of himself that he constantly had to hide in order to move seamlessly among his clan. He did not have the reserved constraint of his cousin Itachi, or the unrelenting ambitions of his youngest cousin Sasuke. He did not even have the strong desire to please of his adopted brother, Baio. He was the non-Uchiha, Uchiha, but he was also the oldest and the one, who every one counted on to keep things set just right.

* * *

Until it happened, he did not fear that the regular Uchiha patrol would spot her. Except for Shisui, no one came near the portion of the territory that sat next to the ravine because it was wide enough that most thought it was uncross able. Even with that tree down across it, Shisui was certain that no one else would have dared to walk the thirty yards across the open ravine on that narrow trunk. He was more afraid of the tree cracking beneath her weight, sending her tumbling down into the small river below than anything else.

He spotted the group of Uchiha ninja before they threw the shiruken at the young woman's head. Jin jumped on the girl pinning her to the ground until she was able to produce a hidden weapon that caused him to have to fall back. Jin had already put her in the genjutsu by then, and Shisui knew unless she was a genjutsu user or was able to produce a very powerful counter jutsu, she was done for. Then he saw her fall off the side of the cliff.

Shisui saw this was his chance to save her without being spotted. He was much faster than she was able to fall, so he transported himself down into the ravine just enough to catch her. And then using the same jutsu, he got her to the river without making the 100-foot bone crushing fall.

By the time he got her to the beach, she was completely unconscious and bleeding profusely from the many wounds over her body. He knew she was going to die if he did not act quick. So he carried her to a nearby cave on the Konoha side of the ravine. He cleaned out her wounds and used the little medical ninjutsu that he knew to heal her.

Despite his treatment, she still became feverish as the day wore into night. So after losing some of his initial inhibitions, Shisui built a fire and peeled off his wet clothes until he was down to his boxers, and then he took off her clothes too, before lying with her skin to skin under a pile of leaves to keep warm through the night.

He stayed awake the entire night. Not sure that she was going to make it through. But then her fever broke and his rudimentary medical treatment seemed to be working. He left her that morning to steal some medicine from his village clinic, and then he caught a rabbit on the way back. When he finally made it back to the cave, she was awake and unsuccessfully attempting to leave.

"Thank you for what you did for me." The young woman said as she watched him skin the rabbit. "What is your name?"

He looked up at her cautiously. He was not sure how much information he wanted to give a konoha shinobi. She seemed to catch on to this. "I'm Tenten. Tenten Hatake. Now you can tell me your name… I know your family name is Uchiha."

"Shisui." He said quietly then he leaned over to restart the fire, so he could cook the rabbit.

Tenten paused as though contemplating that name. Then she sputtered, "Sh-Shisui? As in the Shisui Uchiha that is heir to the head of the Uchiha family?"

Shisui was annoyed by her knowledge of his name. He had hoped he could remain anonymous and completely disconnected from his family when he was with her.

"Why would you help me?" She asked, suspiciously. "Your family obviously wanted me dead."

Shisui huffed. "You were just at the wrong place at the wrong time. You're of no consequence to the Uchiha clan. They were after another one your shinobi –one that is a lot more dangerous."

"I'm a lot a stronger then I look!" Tenten protested.

Shisui looked at her, surprised. She appeared to be insulted that his clan was not specifically targeting her. He laughed.

"What's so funny?" Tenten asked, frowning.

Shisui stopped laughing. He reached for a strand of Tenten's hair which was as wild as ever, having fallen completely from her two knots and down her backside. "What were you doing roaming around in a war zone alone? Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

Tenten shrugged, lowering her eyes to the ground. "Maybe."

Shisui twisted her hair all the way around his finger. "So can you do me a favor, kid, huh? Try and stay alive a bit longer. I went through a lot to save your ass."

Tenten smiled, weakly. "Yeah. Whatever."

She took the bit of cooked meat that Shisui handed to her to eat and then took some of the antibiotic that Shisui stole. After eating, she lay back down on the leaves and drifted off to sleep again.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Tenten awoke some time during the night and found herself wrapped up in Shisui's arms again. The night was cool, but she was not feverish or shivering like she had been the night before. Shisui looked as though he tried to lay away from her this time, on his own pile of leaves. But in her sleep, Tenten had moved from her leaves and onto him. Now they lay facing each other, Shisui's arms around her waist and her head against his chest.

She listened to his heart beat. It was slow and steady while he slept. She wondered again why he had saved her. And why he continued to stay with her. He was a strange young man. He looked like an Uchiha, but he acted nothing like she expected.

Shisui stirred as Tenten tried to move away from him again. In response, he pulled her tighter to his body. She looked up into his face. His black eyes were open and staring down at her. Then she felt him softly pull the back of her loose hair to tilt her face up towards his face, lifting her lips close to his lips. Then he reached down and kissed her.

Tenten felt all the blood in her body rush to her face and her lips. Shisui kissed her deeper, pulling harder on her hair and parting her lips with his tongue. She relinquished all control to him, enjoying the passionate kiss. Her first kiss.

Then Shisui pulled back suddenly. Lifting his head to look out of the cave opening.

"What?" Tenten whispered, looking around too.

He hushed her with a finger to his lips, and then he quickly got up, moving towards the cave opening in a crouched position. He turned back to her and whispered, "Stay here and don't make a sound!"

Tenten nodded as he picked up his tanto. His body started to flicker before he disappeared.

As soon as Shisui disappeared, three ninja with ANBU masks appeared at the cave opening. The one closest to Tenten grabbed her. "What are you doing here?"

In shock, Tenten stammered. "I was attacked by a group of Uchiha a couple of days ago. I was hurt badly and too weak to make it back to Konoha."

She did not mention Shisui. She was certain that it would not matter if he saved her. If he was caught, the ANBU would try to kill him. And she had a feeling Shisui would not use the same lethal force in return. She just prayed he had gotten away without being seen.

Fortunately, The ANBU ninja examined the wounds over Tenten's arms and did not ask anymore questions. "We're taking you back."

Tenten was lifted up by the largest of the three masked ninja and carried back to Konohagakure.

* * *

Shisui hid in the shadows and watched as the ANBU ninja entered the cave. Soon after, they left again with Tenten.

He should have been relieved that she was on her way back to her village without him having to take her there. If he dared to show his face anywhere near Konoha, Danzo would take it as a sign of war. The treaty between the Uchiha clan and the Konoha village was already on shaky ground as it was. Both sides were showing signs of aggression. Ninja were crossing territory lines and baiting the other village.

But Shisui did not feel relieved. A large part of him wanted to chase the ANBU ninja down and take Tenten back to his village. Though he was certain that would not go over well for either his clan or Konoha, the way she made him feel made it all worth the risk.

He wished he was braver. Brave enough to stand up to his father and his uncle, who like Danzo, wanted to reignite the civil war in order to destroy the other side for good. Brave enough to ask Tenten to come with him, and to refuse to marry Suko who had been his intended since they were children. But it really was not a lack of courage that held him back. He knew he had too many others who counted on him. He had to make sure that his family and his clan was taken care of before anything else. His heart would just have to wait.

Shisui turned around and walked back towards the Uchiha village. When he got back to his home. He took off his shirt and sniffed it, taking in some of her scent that lingered there. It was wild and strong like Tenten. He lay it on the side of his bed, away from the other clothes to be taken for a wash.

"Where have you been?"

Shisui turned to find his cousin, Itachi, standing in the door way. The young man was drenched in sweat and looked as though he had just returned from the training field.

"Uh, I just had a few things to take care of before tomorrow." Shisui said quickly. The next day was the annual Uchiha festival. Now that Shisui was twenty-five, it would also be the night that his Uncle officially named him as his successor.

Itachi would be his right hand man. The way Shisui's father, Fujio, had been for Fugaku. That is if they all survived until the succession. The way Fugaku had been recklessly ordering the clan's scouting units into Konoha territory lately, that might not be guaranteed.

Itachi was the first person that Shisui trusted with his ideas about peace and the possible rejoining of the Uchiha clan and Konoha. Itachi did not necessarily agree with all of Shisui's ideals. But he respected his older cousin enough to follow him anywhere. Shisui did not take that responsibility lightly. He not only held his own fate in his hands, but also the fates of Itachi and all who believed him.

Shisui stood and placed his left hand on Itachi's right shoulder. Itachi put his right hand on Shisui's left shoulder. "Tomorrow will be a start to the beginnings of a new era, Cousin."

Itachi nodded. The young man could have easily told his father about Shisui's plans. Shisui would have been disowned and Itachi would be come the heir. But unlike his younger brother, Itachi was not ambitious. His loyalty and his love for his family ran deep. "To a new era."


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks for reading! Hopefully Tenten has gotten herself together a bit more in these next few chapters ;)**

 **Oh... and I still own absolutely nothing**

Chapter four

Two days later, Tenten stood in front of the Hokage's desk. She felt much better.

After scolding Tenten for being so unnecessarily reckless, Sakura Haruno finished the healing process that Shisui had started in the cave. Tenten then spent the next two days in the hospital receiving antibiotics and having her bandages changed regularly. Sakura finally let her go home that day.

As soon as Tenten step foot out of the hospital, Konohamaru Sarutobi cornered her in the street and informed her that Lord Fourth was waiting to speak to her.

"Great." Tenten mumbled under her breath, as she headed back in the direction of the academy. She had been expecting this summons, but that did not make it any less nerve racking once it came.

"How did you manage to escape the Uchiha attack?" Lord Minato asked curiously from behind his desk.

Kakashi Hatake stood to Minato's right side. As her cousin and only blood relation, he was her family representation. And Danzo Shimura stood to the hokage's left as a representative of the ANBU agents who found her. The hokage had a curious but kind look on his face. It put Tenten at ease. She concentrated on him, determined to block out the others.

"Eh… They thought they killed me." Tenten explained. "I was able to crawl to the cave… and fix myself up a bit."

"Your wounds were healing well when you were found. The work of medical ninjutsu… you don't have any medical ninjutsu." Danzo said. Stone faced, his voice sounded like deep rumbling thunder.

Tenten's face burned. Right. She forgot about that. She had never been a good liar, and now she was having to lie in front of three of the most intimidating ninja in Konohagakure.

Minato raised his hand at Danzo for silence. He smiled at Tenten. "Did someone help you, Tenten?"

"Ummm…" She could not say it was Shisui Uchiha who was with her in the cave. She knew what that name meant around here. "I was unconscious for most of the two days. Someone found me and helped me… but I never saw the person. I don't know who it was."

"How convenient for you." Danzo replied, sarcastically. "Fortunately, I have ears and eyes everywhere. We know it was an Uchiha who helped you."

Tenten started, attempting to make her surprise as realistic as possible. "IT was? Really? Why would an Uchiha help me?"

"The group was after me." Kakashi interjected. "Maybe one of them felt guilty that Tenten got in the middle of the fight."

Tenten breathed a small sigh of relief. Thank god, Kakashi gave her an out. She had never been very close to her older cousin. They were the only two Hatakes left, so he had effectively been her guardian since her parents died, though he was too young to actually raise her. He signed official paperwork and showed up at times like this. Otherwise, they did not have much of a relationship. But he always seemed to be there for her… when she really needed him.

Minato looked up at Kakashi. Then at Danzo. Then he looked back at Tenten. "I guess we will never know for certain if you can't remember your rescuer's face. But, you need to take better care of yourself Tenten. And don't leave the village again without permission."

Danzo looked down at Minato. "So the girl gets no punishment for breaking our laws? No one is allowed out of the village without a pass, Lord Hokage."

"She'll do community service." Minato replied lightly. "Let her pick up trash and clean off graffiti around the Hokage park for a couple of weeks."

"Thank you, Lord Hokage." Tenten replied, quickly.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter five

Shisui set his cup of soup down on the table in front of him. He sat between Suko and his younger cousin, Baio, whom his father had adopted as a young boy. Sasuke and Itachi sat on the other side of the table with Misako, Itachi's intended bride and Suko's younger sister. Shisui's father and his Uncle Fugaku sat at one end of the table, and Suko and Misako's father and mother sat at the other.

After Shisui was officially announced as Fugaku's successor, it was appropriate to officially announce Suko as Shisui fiancé and set a date for the wedding. Shisui would not be able to succeed his uncle until he married and became a full member of the clan who could vote with the other elders. The family had gathered to discuss the details of the marriage and the bride price that Suko's parents would receive from Fujio for Shisui to take Suko as his bride.

Shisui felt sick to his stomach. He looked over at his fiancé. Suko was a beautiful young woman… kind hearted and selfless. What his father called the perfect woman. Fujio claimed that she was the spitting image of Shisui's mother in looks and personality. But that was just the fantasy. Shisui grown up hearing differently from too many others, who knew his mother's rebellious ways could not be contained by the Uchiha clan's strict laws. She took her own life when Shisui was only an infant.

Shisui had known Suko his entire life, and he never felt more for her than simple concern for her well being. He had known Tenten for two days, and he could not stifle this fire that she had set ablaze in his chest.

Suko turned and smiled at him as she caught his eye. It made him feel worse, seeing the undisguised admiration radiate from her eyes. She touched his hand and whispered. "These formalities are so boring, aren't they?"

Shisui smiled back at her, whispering, "Very boring."

Suko giggled lightly. She picked up her soup, drinking it slowly while still eyeing him. She was trying to seduce him.

Shisui had picked up on the Uchiha Kunoichi's use of subtle flirting, eye contact, light touch, conversation, and dancing and singing to seduce a man by the time he was a teenager. It was the power of his sharingan that allowed him to see these intentions clearly. Suko was worried that he was not fully hers yet. Now Shisui wondered if Suko's sharingan had grown stronger.

He smiled and leaned towards her again. "It will all be well worth it once we're married."

He could visibly see Suko relax. She replied, "The day won't come soon enough, my Shisui."

Satisfied that Suko was content, Shisui leaned back towards Baio and whispered. "Hatake. Where have I heard that name before?"

Baio raised an eyebrow. "The copy ninja… The bane of the Uchiha Clan. Kakashi of the sharingan. The one who took Obito's eye before he died."

"Ah." Shisui frowned. He knew that name sounded familiar. "I've never heard of any other Hatakes before. Does Kakashi have a sister?"

"No. His father was the White Fang of the leaf –the one who took his own life. White Fang had a brother –I think he's dead too, but the brother had a daughter. I guess she'd be the only other Hatake. I don't think they've ever been really close though. At least they weren't when I served in the ANBU with Kakashi years ago. Why?"

"I've heard some stories about a woman with the last name Hatake," Shishui replied deep in thought. So Tenten really was alone. No wonder her face always looked so sad.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter six

Tenten made her way back to her apartment. She felt the dark loneliness of the place envelope her as she entered. She set her pouch on the table and sat down on her bed, flipping the television on to fill up the empty space with the sound of the 'hokage report'.

Tenten lay back on her bed and put her fingers to her lips. She could still feel Shisui's kiss there. Based on Danzo's anger at the meeting earlier, she was certain Shisui had gotten away. She wondered if she would ever see him again.

Her senses alarming, Tenten lifted her head and inspected her apartment. It was only one room and a bathroom, but there was very little light and lots of shadow. She felt like she was being watched. Then she remembered Danzo's assertion that he had eyes and ears everywhere. She felt a shiver move down her spine. She pushed Shisui from her mind, afraid Danzo might even be able to spy on her thoughts.

She jumped at a light knock on her door. Collecting herself, Tenten got up and walked to the door. She opened it to reveal Hinata, Neji's cousin, standing on the other side.

Upon seeing Tenten, Hinata stepped in and pulled her into a hug. "Tenten? I heard you were out of the hospital. I would have visited you there, but I didn't want to interrupt your rest."

Tenten smiled, accepting Hinata's hug. "Yea. I just got home. Come in."

Happy for the company, she pulled the other girl into the room and motioned for her to sit at the table. "Would you like something to drink?"

"No. Don't trouble yourself. You still need to be resting." Hinata stated firmly… or as firmly as Hinata could manage with her light voice. "I heard what happened from Sakura. It sounds like you've been through an ordeal."

"I almost died." Tenten admitted. She had not admitted this out loud yet. It was confirmation that Shisui had save her life.

"Well, I'm glad you didn't and your home safe now." Hinata said. Then she continued hesitantly "You aren't planning on going outside of the village anymore are you?"

Tenten sighed. Without her trips out of the village, she was going to feel like a mouse caught in mouse trap. She touched her lips again. It also meant she had no chance of seeing Shisui again. But she knew she was going to be monitored closely from now on. There was no way she could scale the wall without getting caught. "No. I'll be spending the next few weeks cleaning Hokage park."

Hinata stayed to make sure Tenten ate dinner, but she had to get home before dark and the village curfew went into effect. Insisting on doing something other than lie in the bed for another two days, Tenten cleaned up the table and washed the plates, half listening to the hum of her television in the background.

She felt the cold metal against her throat before she realized that there was someone standing behind her. She dropped the plate in her hand on the floor.

Danzo rose out of her floor like a deformed lump of clay, eventually molding into his actual form in front of her. "I don't think you've told us everything little Tenten."

Tenten felt her blood run ice cold inside of her veins. She hoped maybe this time Danzo would let the hokage's ruling stand. But based on the calculated coldness in his face, Tenten knew she was in for some trouble. "I did tell…"

"Think about your words carefully. You have a knife to your throat." Danzo interrupted. "One word from me and your throat is slit –ending your short life. That would be too bad. Are you willing to give your life to protect a Uchiha? A known enemy to the leaf?"

"His name was Jin." Tenten offered up. She remembered Shisui told her that Jin had been the one who put her in the genjutsu. "He helped me and then he left. I don't know anything more."

"Jin Uchiha? I truly doubt a no name like that would have the nerve to defy his clan for you. And if that is the whole story –why would you lie? It seems like a whole lot of energy for no reason." Danzo taunted. "Unless… unless the Uchiha who saved you is one whose name could turn the tide of this war."

Tenten frowned. What was this old man driving at? Did he already know it was Shisui? And if he did, why did he need a name from her? What would Danzo gain from her naming Shisui as her rescuer other than to label her as a traitor? She doubted that her fate mattered that much to Danzo Shimura.

But if the Uchiha clan found out that Shisui had helped her, he might be disowned. She could see how Danzo would want to use this information to cause cracks in the strength of the Uchiha clan. But why would any of them take his word?

Before Tenten met Shisui in the cave, she knew him as a legend. During the civil war, Shisui Uchiha had led the younger Uchiha shinobi, many of them formally in the ANBU black ops under Danzo's command. When Fugaku began to plot the coup, Shisui had wavered on which side he would take. But when he did eventually choose to fight with his clan, he took half of Danzo's best ANBU ninja with him. Danzo never got over this.

Shisui was said to have inspired such loyalty in those who followed him that it was his decision alone that allowed the Uchiha clan to win the war, establishing their own independent shinobi village right in the shadow of Konohagakure.

"I told you what I know," Tenten said firmly and much more confidently than she felt.

"If you protect a traitor to the leaf, then you are a traitor to the leaf." Danzo hissed. "You've made your choice."

Tenten had been slowly working out how she was going to get herself out of this current situation. Luckily for her, Danzo was an arrogant bastard who loved to hear himself talk, so she had time. She also always carried hidden weapons on her person, even while she was at home in her apartment.

She slid two needles down her sleeve into the palms of her hands. She was able to see the ANBU behind her in the reflection of the picture window. In a single motion, Tenten stabbed the first needle into the shoulder of the black op and flung the other needle at Danzo's face. The first needle pierced deep into the muscle and tendon of the ANBU ninja's left shoulder making the arm temporarily limp and causing him to drop the knife he had at Tenten's throat. The second needle hit Danzo straight in the forehead, piercing through to the brain. His body toppled over and then dissolved.

Tenten had already been expecting Danzo's substitution. But it kept him busy long enough for her to pivot and strike up with a knife hand at the ANBU's throat. The ninja took a step back, grasping at his throat with his uninjured arm. This gave Tenten another few seconds to throw the two kunai, which she wore strapped to her legs, at the picture window, shattering it. Grabbing her pouch, she jumped through the window and the shattered glassed out into the alley behind her apartment building. She caught hold of the fire escape on the building across the alley from her building and slid down to the street.

Tenten ran. She knew Danzo and the ANBU were not far behind. She needed to go somewhere that they would not expect her to go. That meant the Hyuga's house and Guy's and Lee's places were out. She thought about Sakura, but decided she needed the help of someone who was a little bit more resourceful. That's when she spun on her heel and ran northeast to the section of the village where most of the Jonin lived.

She scaled up the side of Kakashi's building to his window and knocked. A light came on inside and then she saw his white hair appear right inside of the window. He opened up the glass and helped her inside. "Tenten? What's going on?"

Catching her breath, Tenten took a seat at Kakashi's kitchen table. "Danzo… he tried… he tried to get me to tell him who helped me… and then he tried… he tried to kill me."

Kakashi crossed his arms over this chest listening to her stuttering story. Then he half mumbled, "Shit. What have you managed to get yourself into?"

Tenten shrugged going on. "I came here because I need a place to hide where they won't think to look. I mean –you're my cousin, but we've barely ever even had a conversation."

"Even so, you can't stay here." Kakashi replied. "It won't take long for Danzo to figure out you came to me. But I have somewhere else you can hid out for now."

"Why is Danzo so interested in who helped you?" Kakashi asked, incredulously. He walked toward the back to get his ninja gear on.

Tenten replied quietly, "because it was Shisui Uchiha."

"What?!" Kakashi stopped dead in his tracks. He spun back around. "That can't be true. Why would the heir of the Uchiha clan save you –a leaf ninja."

Tenten shrugged. "I don't really know. He never gave me a reason. But he definitely saved my life. I would be dead now if it wasn't for Shisui."

Kakashi responded, "Double shit."

Then the copy ninja squinted his eyes at Tenten. "Tell me you don't have feelings for him. Shisui Uchiha, I mean. That would be a deadly mistake, Tenten."

Tenten started. "What? No! A woman can't just be grateful without falling allover herself in love with some guy?!"

Kakashi shrugged, turning back to the task at hand. "Hey. I'm a thirty five-year-old bachelor. What do I know about how a twenty-year-old woman's mind works?"

Though she would never consider admitting this to Kakashi, she wondered if she really was starting to have feelings for Shisui. She barely knew the guy… but he was her first kiss… and he had save her life. And she had begun to realize something else... That she actually really wanted to live again.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter seven

Tenten followed Kakashi through the wood.

Apparently there was more then just one way out of the village. He took her to a tunnel that ran beneath the wall and out the west side of the village. Once they were out of the tunnel, Kakashi summoned Pakkun to lead them through the leaf and Uchiha patrols. He took her to an old black ops hide out within the Uchiha territory.

"No one knows about this place. Not even Danzo." Kakashi said, as he showed her his stockpile of supplies. "I only use this hideout when I'm sent deep into this territory and I don't have a clear way back."

"If you have to go out, use your summoning animal to lead you around the patrols." Kakashi instructed. "But don't go out unless you truly need to. I'll return when I have more information."

Tenten nodded, eyeing the stockpile. Kakashi must not know her at all if he thought she was just going to hold up in this dark little place for days at a time. And the one thing, she and Kakashi did have in common was their summoning animals. Ookami was a wolf, but she had the same tracking abilities as Pakkun.

…

Tenten only lasted a day. She started to get restless by the next evening.

She remembered seeing a stream not far from the hideout. She needed to bath anyway. She had not been able to even take a shower the night before.

Biting her finger, followed by a set of hand seals, she summoned Ookami outside of the hideout. The young wolf appeared next to her, dressed in a leaf headband and flak jacket.

"It's been awhile Mistress Tenten." The wolf growled at her. Then she sniffed the air. "This place stinks of Uchiha. What are we doing here?"

"I've gotten myself in some trouble… so I need you to scout the patrols in this area. I want to get to the nearby stream without being seen."

Ookami nodded and set off. A few moments later she returned, motioning with her head for Tenten to get on her back. They made their way to the stream. The sun was starting to set, so Ookami kept their path to the shadows. She deviated a few times to avoid the smells of patrollers who appeared to be coming too close. But it did not take long for them to get to the banks of the stream.

"I'll look out from up there in the wood." Ookami told Tenten as the young woman prepared to get in the water.

"Ok." She striped to her underwear and then waded into the water. Tenten lay her head back in the water and started to float. It felt nice and cool on her skin. She looked up at the sky above her. Stars were beginning to appear as the sunlight slowly faded.

"Mistress Tenten!" Ookami called from the bank. "I smell someone approaching. Come!"

Tenten splashed quickly out of the water and picked up her clothes. She hopped onto Ookami's back, and they dashed for the cover of the wood. Ookami turned around in the brush and dropped down so they could not be seen. Tenten leaned down placing her head just above the wolf's head.

Two figures appeared on the bank from the east and two figures appeared from the west. They met on either side of the stream. Tenten sucked in her breath as she realized the figures who had approached from the east were Danzo and one of his ANBU guards.

She recognized one of the other men too. He wore a black long sleeved shirt and pants with a headband that had the Uchiha symbol on the forehead protector. It was Fugaku Uchiha.

"What happened to the girl!?" The head of the Uchiha clan demanded from across the stream.

"The girl got away." Danzo stated with irritation in his voice. "We don't need her. The fact that she ran confirms my suspicion that it was your nephew who saved her. But she can't hide long. My ANBU agents will eventually track her down and when they do, they will finish the job. Until then we'll use a stand in. She's an orphan and a chunin with only average ninjutsu –no one will know the difference."

Tenten frowned. She thought, 'well this chunin with average ninjutsu got away from you!'

Danzo continued. "Keep up your end of the bargain and make it look as real as possible, and I'll make sure to deliver Kakashi Hatake."

"Don't worry. Shisui's mother committed suicide –no one will question him taking his own life too. Two star crossed lovers who couldn't live without each other –he handed us the cover on a platter." Fugaku Uchiha replied. "Once Kakashi's sharingan has been cleansed, and the obstacle of Shisui and his grand plans for peace and unity are out of our way, the truce will be over. Peace between Leaf and Uchiha is not the way forward."

"We are in agreement." Danzo replied. All four ninja took off.

Tenten remained in the brush, stunned by what she just saw and heard. Danzo and Fugaku were working together to get rid of Shisui and Kakashi.

Ookami whispered, "Don't move. Not all of them have left the area yet."

Tenten noted another pair of legs moving through the brush just shy of the spot where she and Ookami lay hidden. After a few more minutes, then the wolf said, "It's clear."

"I need you to do me another favor, Ookami."

"Anything, Mistress Tenten." The wolf replied.

"I need you to sneak me into the Uchiha Village –to warn Shisui Uchiha." It was now Tenten's turn to save Shisui's life.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter eight

Shisui paced in front of seven rows of ten Uchiha ninjas. The youngest shinobi stood in the front, from age eleven and up, along with the few young women who chose to fight on the front lines. He counted as the ninja went through their fighting forms. There were twenty katas. Itachi and Sasuke stood on either side of him, facing seventy Uchiha ninja, demonstrating the correct execution of the form for the younger ninja in the front.

As he neared the end of the forms, Shisui caught sight of something odd in the brush, right off of the training field. It was a shadow that was not supposed to be there. No one else would have seen it. But he had his sharingan activated in order to see every detail of the taijutsu. He did not react, but finished the forms and then banged the butt of his sheathed sword on the ground. "Pair off. Sparring with weapons."

He turned back to the brush. The shadow was gone. The ninja had paired off with their weapons now and were waiting. "Begin!"

He started to pace again, intermittently eyeing the brush. He had a strong feeling that someone was waiting for him. It pulled at him more and more with each passing minute. After about twenty minutes of sparring, he banged his sword again. The ninja stopped, bowing to each other before turning to face him. "Itachi –take over… start the individual sparring matches."

He turned to walk away, distracted. Itachi asked. "What is in their arsenal?"

"Anything goes. Match ends at surrender... or first blood drawn." Nonchalantly, Shisui lifted his hand up as he walked away.

He walked back to his house, scanning around him as he went. Crossing his yard from the backside, he entered through the back patio and the sliding door to his room. It was open. That was unusual. He unsheathed his sword, inspecting the room with his sharingan first. But he did not have to look hard. Tenten moved out of the shadows into the waning sunlight as he stepped into the room.

He re-sheathed his sword. Nothing amazed him about her anymore. How had she managed to get this far into the Uchiha village without getting caught? How did she even know which house was his house? Had she been watching, hidden for that long? He shut the sliding door behind him and locked it. Then he walked around the room, making sure all the shades were pulled down tight.

Tenten watched him expectantly as he moved around his room. She said, "I came because…"

"Nothing is worth being this stupid." Shisui interrupted. He finished checking the screens and crossed the room to Tenten. Surprising her, he pulled her into his arms, kissing the top of her head, and then he lifted her chin to kiss her lips.

Dazed, she looked into his coal black eyes when he was finished kissing her. He had only pulled back slightly. Their faces were still close enough to feel the warmth of each other's breaths. She whispered, "I came because I need to warn you."

"About what?" Shisui said frowning. He walked away from her then. He continued sternly. "You shouldn'tve put yourself in danger like this for me."

"You saved my life. I owed you." Tenten answered back, putting her fingers to her lips. "And now because you stuck your neck out for me, your life is in danger. I couldn't just stand by… I… I was chased from Konoha by Danzo last evening anyway. He wanted to use my death to cover up your death. But I escaped and went into hiding in my cousin, Kakashi's hideout. That's where I saw Danzo and your uncle, Fugaku, meeting in the woods. They want to kill you and make it look like a suicide. Make it look like you killed yourself over me."

Tenten moved closer to Shisui again, positioning herself at his side so she could see his face. "They don't like your ideas about peace. They're afraid too many will follow you, and they won't get the war that they want if you're left alive."

She grabbed his arm urgently. "I can't be the reason for your death. You are too important to both your clan and my village. You have to protect yourself. They'll try to ambush you and take you off guard."

Shisui sighed. He looked at her. Inspected every inch of her. Her brown hair was pulled up in two knots as usual, with the loose pieces tousled around her face. Her sunburnt skin was dusted with soil and her white tunic was off white now. With his thumb, he rubbed lightly at the small amount of dirt on the tip of her nose. "How did you even get inside of the village? No one gets past the guards and their sharingans."

"My summoning animal. She is… very good at keeping us hidden."

"A ghost maybe?" Shisui asked slyly.

Tenten laughed. "No. Ookami is a wolf."

He placed his hand on her face gently. "Why did you take such a risk to save me, little Tenten? Because you owe, me? Because I'm so important to this war? Are those the only reasons?"

Tenten looked into Shisui's eyes again. Then nervously, she looked away. "I mean, I –I care what happens to you."

Shisui moved Tenten's face back toward his face again, so she had to look at him. Looking into her eyes intensely, Shisui said, firmly. "I more than care about you."

Tenten whispered back, lightly. "I more than care about you too."

Shisui smiled down at Tenten. He leaned in and kissed her again. This time deeper until he felt her fully give in to him.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter nine

At midnight, Shisui woke Tenten. "I want you to come with me to the meeting tonight."

"What meeting?" Tenten asked, sitting up from Shisui's bed.

"Those who are loyal to achieving peace. We meet at midnight to discuss things that can't be spoken about in front of the rest of the clan," Shisui said.

"It'll be ok if I'm there?" Tenten asked pulling her tunic back over her tank top.

Shisui leaned forward and kissed Tenten's forehead. "You'll be there with me. No one will question it."

He stood up reached his hand out for her. She took his hand, and he pulled her out of his room into the night.

* * *

Tenten followed Shisui from the Uchiha Village to a tunnel that dropped steeply from the surface into a cavern deep underground. At the tunnel opening, they were met by two Uchiha ninja who greeted Shisui placing their hands on his shoulders as he did to them. They both looked questioningly at Tenten, but only nodded as Shisui said, "This is Tenten Hatake." And then he took her hand again, leading her past them.

They walked through the dimly lit tunnel, finally entering the enormous cavern at the end of it. The cave was filled by at least one hundred Uchihas; all young, mostly men and boys, but some women and girls, in their twenties and younger. They lined the walls of the cavern, talking and laughing animatedly. Shisui looked back at Tenten, who was looking over the room in amazement.

He led her to the center of the cavern, where Itachi stood with Susake and Baio. Shisui was greeted by each of his cousins with hands on shoulder.

"Wow. The turn out is great tonight." Shisui said, as he greeted Itachi.

"We have more joining us every night." Itachi replied, looking over the room. His eyes stopped on Tenten as she stood behind Shisui, but his face remained expressionless.

Following Itachi's eyes, Shisui said, "This is Tenten Hatake."

"So this is why you've been so interested in the Hatakes lately." Baio interjected jovially. He stuck out his hand to Tenten. "I'm Baio –Shisui's brother… well actually cousin, but we were raised like brothers."

Tenten smiled back at him, taking his hand to shake, happy to finally see a friendly face. "Hi. I'm Tenten."

"Tenten." Sasuke said, coolly from his position, leaning against a rock.

"Sasuke." Tenten nodded at Sasuke in acknowledgement.

"You two know each other then?" Shisui asked, looking back and forth between his younger cousin and Tenten.

"We took the chunin exam together. And… our teams worked together a few times before the civil war." Tenten explained. In actuality, she and Sasuke had possibly only spoken to each other a total of one time before now. The only thing she knew about him was that he was a prodigy, and every girl in his genin class was in love with him, with the exception of maybe Tenten's best friend Hinata. Despite the fact that it was her cousin Kakashi who ran team 7, she had only gotten to know Sakura well. Sasuke broke from Konohagakure with the rest of his clan early on. And Naruto, Lord Minato's son, ended up in a coma after the same battle that killed Neji.

"A more interesting question is… how do the two of you know each other?" Sasuke asked, stood up and moved towards them. He never appeared highly interested in anything, but he did appear interested in the answer to this question.

Tenten smiled up at Shisui. Sasuke may have been good looking, but to Tenten, Shisui was gorgeous. He had the same defined cheek bones, smooth black hair and milk white skin, but his intense eyes drew you in and made you feel as if being approximate to him would set everything right in the world. "I did something stupid and Shisui helped clean up my mess."

"And Tenten owed me… so she came to save me." Shisui said, looking down at Tenten and returning her smile.

"Oooo-kay." Sasuke replied, sarcastically, and shrugged his shoulders, quickly reverting back to uninterested.

"They're waiting." Itachi interrupted. He nodded his head indicating the cavern full of Uchiha ninja.

Shisui squeezed Tenten's hand and then let go, before climbing up on the rock.

* * *

Tenten watched from between Sasuke and Baio as Shisui addressed the room. If she had not thought that Shisui lived up to his legendary reputation before that night, she did after watching him control every emotion in that room. Every single ninja hung on to his words like they were priceless moments to be collected and preserved. Uchihas cheering with unabandoned joy as he finished each thought. Even Tenten found herself cheering too.

"…We must no longer be forced to fight our grandfathers' and fathers' wars!" Shisui demanded. "We are the ones sent to the front line –who die for a cause that we DO NOT believe in! Yet we have no voice in the fate of our own clan OR our own lives! We no longer blindly accept the conservative ways of our parents. We, the next generation of Uchihas, will be the progressive thinkers who will move this world forward!"

"To a new era!" Shisui thrust his fist into the air. The entire room repeated this in unison. The sound reverberated around the cavern, pulsing through Tenten's bones and sending a chill up the back of her neck.

* * *

When Shisui was done with his speech, he climbed down from the rock and was met by Itachi.

"What is really going on? Why did you bring the girl here?" Itachi asked him quietly.

"She came to warn me about Fugaku and Danzo. As we suspected, they're working together." Shisui whispered back. "I saved Tenten's life a few weeks ago after she was attacked by a group of our patrolman. She was found by the ANBU and returned to Konoha, but not long after, Danzo tried to kill her. They want to make it look like I killed myself over her. She was able to escape and was hiding in the woods, when she overheard one of their meetings. Apparently, they're targeting her cousin Kakashi as well."

"They want his sharingan. We should trust the leaf spy and agree to make contact with him. If the copy ninja is with us, it will only make our position stronger." Itachi advised. Then he asked, hesitantly, "Do you have feelings for this girl, Shisui?"

Shisui looked over at Tenten and then back at Itachi. "Yes. I love her."

Itachi nodded. There was no need for anymore of an exchange between them than that. Shisui knew from then on that Itachi would place his life on the line for Tenten just as he would for Shisui. Just as Shisui would for Itachi and anyone who he loved.

"It could complicate any agreement we make with her cousin." Itachi stated.

Shisui looked at Tenten and smiled. "It could also bind us permanently. Don't worry, Cousin, I'll make sure the copy ninja knows my intentions."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

A few hours later, Tenten lay her head on Shisui's pillow. She put her hand on Shisui's face as he lay beside her. "I'm going to have to go back soon."

Shisui grabbed her hand, kissing it. "Don't go."

He sat up looking down on her. "I took you to that meeting tonight because I want you to know what my life is. Because I want you to be a permanent part of my life. I want you to share it with me. And I want you to stay in the Uchiha village for good."

Now Tenten was a daredevil, but this sounded even too daring for her taste. "They'll kill me if they find me here. And then they'll label you a traitor and kill you too."

"Not if you're Uchiha." Shisui pulled Tenten up to him, resting his forehead and nose on her forehead and nose. "Marry me."

Tenten's eyes opened wide. She opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. Impulsively, she grasped the side of Shisui's face kissing him hungrily. He lay her down on the pillow, kissing her back. Then he moved his mouth to her ear and whispered, "Is that a yes?"

"Yes." Tenten managed to get this out despite the fact that her tongue was still in shock. Then she hugged Shisui closer to her. He buried his head in her neck. She barely knew this man, but she had never felt like anything was as right as this moment right now. "This is crazy. We barely know each other."

Shisui smiled into her neck. "Kind of like walking across a hundred foot ravine?"

"Exactly." Tenten said quietly as Shisui's kisses became even more urgent against her neck.

Then she felt his body tense up just before the sound of shattering glass came from his sliding door. A second later, Tenten found herself outside of Shisui's house. He was carrying her. He teleported again, and they were at the boundary of the village. He said, "Call your summoning animal and go back to your hideout."

"I'm not leaving you." Tenten said fiercely as he set her down.

Shisui brushed the hair out of Tenten's face. He smiled down at her. "I'll be ok. Just take care of yourself, and I promise, I'll find you."

"You better." Tenten kissed Shisui again, and then she bit her thumb before doing the hand seals to call Ookami. The ninja wolf appeared next to her.

Shisui watched as Tenten climbed on the wolf and then took off west before he teleported again.

Shisui did not know how he gained the strength to ask Tenten to marry him. But as soon as he saw it was her, who broke into his room that evening, he knew he could not let her go a second time. He had felt a bit of guilt in that moment because of Suko, but he knew a long time ago that he could never marry his intended bride and be who he truly was. She believed too firmly in the old ways. She would have eventually betrayed him.

So he asked Tenten to marry him and then he marked her while he kissed her neck. The mark would not last long, but it would last long enough that wherever she went that night, he could use his sharingan to find her. He needed to make sure Itachi knew where to find him, first.

He reappeared right outside of Itachi's house. He knocked softly. Itachi opened the door. "What's going on Shisui?"

"I'm leaving." Shisui said quietly. "Fugaku sent his assassin for me tonight."

Itachi looked grave and nodded.

"You know the plan." Shisui said. "I'm going to stay with Tenten. It's a hideout of Kakashi Hatake's in the western portion of our territory. Tell the patrollers to avoid that area. You're going to have to go to the meeting. If the double agent really is who she says she is... convince him of the alliance and tell him where I am."

Itachi nodded again. Shisui teleported and went after Tenten.


	11. Chapter 11

Finally updating, sorry it took so long. I ran into some writer's block. But I think now I've picked up more inspiration for this story. Hope you enjoy.

I own nothing. All characters owned by Masashi Kishimoto

* * *

Kakashi sat in the corner of a dive in the Land of Wind with his book opened up in front of his face. He had gotten very good at reading and casing a room at the same time. So far, he spotted two ANBU on the other side of the bar and two sitting at a table by the door. They must have been novices. He picked up their obvious positioning right away… in order to watch him without actually watching him. Danzo should know better than to send new recruits after him.

There were also two Uchihas in the far right corner. These two weren't any better. The two men had attempted to put on full faced masks in order to prevent Kakashi from seeing their trademark straight black Uchiha hair and pale white skin. Unfortunately for them, Kakashi spotted the tails about two miles back, before the spies actually put their masks on. Definitely, novices. Kakashi raised an eyebrow and turned the page of his book.

Another Uchiha entered then. This one was far more recognizable and not trying to disguise himself at all. Kakashi had trained him when he first joined the ANBU during the years the Uchiha still lived in Konohagakure. This was the contact? Itachi Uchiha? Her promise to provide him with good intel had paned out much better than he expected.

Kakashi was used to being the target of both Konoha and the Uchiha clan. Danzo thought he was too unmanageable, and the Uchiha hated that he had a sharingan. But the amount of tails in this place was ridiculous. However, now he understood. With Itachi Uchiha's appearance, it was no wonder the bar was crawling with spies from both sides.

Without looking up from his book, Kakashi raised his hand to his forehead and saluted the young woman, who appeared from the shadows of the rest room area. Rin Nohara moved from the shadows, falling in step with her contact. They both approached the table and sat down in front of Kakashi.

Turning another page, Kakashi said, "There are six agents in this bar, both leaf and Uchiha. None plan to let us leave easily. And being that they are all unwanted witnesses to our clandestine little meeting, they'll have to be disposed once we're done anyway."

Itachi nodded. "Agreed."

"Well. What do you want?"

"I'm here as a messenger for my cousin, Shisui. He's had to defer his meeting with you for now, because he's already been targeted by my father, Fugaku." Itachi stated, stoically. "We have confirmation that Danzo and Fugaku are working together. He feels it's time that we form an alliance as well."

Kakashi looked up over the top of his book, but said nothing.

Itachi continued, "Shisui is making his way to your western hideout as we speak, to meet up with your cousin, Tenten Hatake."

Kakashi let this little piece of information roll around his brain for a minute. "Your cousin has grown unusually attached to my cousin. May I ask the nature of this attachment?"

"Shisui would like to tell you that himself." Itachi replied.

"Humm…" Kakashi said, putting his book down on the table. "So is this about our two villages? Or is this about a girl?"

Itachi looked back at Kakashi, expressionless. "This is about what is in all of our best interests. Danzo and Fugaku will target you and your family next. Your cousin is in the middle of this regardless of her relationship with Shisui."

Itachi looked over at Rin. "Your girlfriend was worried enough to compromise her cover as an ANBU spy and approach Shisui and me, weeks ago."

Kakashi gave Rin a side-eyed glance. "Well since her cover is blown, you might as well know that she's actually... my wife. And she worries way too much."

Rin looked back and forth between the two men. Eventually, after the silence started to become almost oppressive. She said, "Kakashi, your cousin is a grown woman. Though Shisui wouldn't be your or my first choice for her, he is obviously who she has chosen. You've stayed away from her in order to protect her all these years, now it's time to open that door back up. She needs you. Go to the hide out and hear them out."

Itachi looked at Kakashi, silently. Neither man was easy to read. Itachi, who had trained himself to express nothing… ever. And Kakashi, who always kept most of his face covered. Finally, Kakashi picked up his book and said, "I've got the two at the bar."

Without a word, Itachi raised his left hand and pointed to the left side of him, indicating the two Uchiha in the corner were his targets. Rin said, exasperated, "Well I guess I have the two leftovers near the door then."

"Thanks, my love." Kakashi replied, standing up and lifting his headband to reveal his sharingan. He activated his chidori, flying across the room, over one side of the bar and then the other, and stabbing his hand through the chest of a shocked ANBU spy.

At the same time, Itachi stood up, activating his mangekyou sharingan, he moved across the room in nothing more than a determined walk. The first Uchiha spy stood up activating his own sharingan, and then he promptly dropped to the floor like a dead weight, without a word. The next man fell face forward into his beer mug, not even able to stand up. Then Itachi sat on the edge of the table and waited patiently for the other two to finish.

Rin pulled a tanto from her hip and slid on her knees across the room to door. She concentrated chakra into her empty hand, and then went after her two targets, causing external injuries with her sword and internal injuries with her sharp palm and fist technique.

Kakashi had managed to slice his second target's throat with his kunai after the second ANBU was able to dodge his chidori. He held a single finger up to the bar tender and pulled back out his book to continue reading as they waited for Rin to take out the last two spies.

"It took a little longer than usual dear." Kakashi commented, his mismatched eyes smiling tauntingly at his wife.

"Shut it!" Rin hissed as she re-sheathed her sword, finally finished. "I've got to get back to Konoha, to salvage what is left of my cover and to make sure it has not compromised Lord Minato's position. And you, my dear, need to find your cousin."

She poked Kakashi hard in the chest. He pretended to double over, and instead, leaned in and rested his chin on her head. "See you again, real soon."

She smiled up at him, pulling his face down to hers and kissing him through the mask. "Real soon."

Itachi walked over to Kakashi as Rin left through the door. "So you've agreed then… to the alliance."

Kakashi pulled his headband down over his left eye and said. "It doesn't look like I have any other choice."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Tenten sat in the dark underground cavern waiting for Shisui to find her. He had promised that he would be here soon. And he had to know that she would only wait so long before going out to search for him. The rest of the night had passed quickly, and then the entire next day, and now it was turning into night again.

That's when she felt the hand on her shoulder. She jumped up ready to punch the intruder in the face, when she felt herself being grabbed around the waist. Shisui's face appeared right in front of her face, so that their noses were touching. He whispered, "Be still."

She complied and he let go of her waist, moving just a step in front of her with his sword raised. "I was being tailed. I think I lost them a while back, but we'll just have to wait and see."

Shisui crouched down near the ground. Tenten kneeled behind him, placing her arms around his neck and her chin on his shoulder. She whispered in his ear. "I almost left to go find you."

Shisui turned his head slightly and gave her a side glance. "I know. That's why I came straight here even though I had a tail on my ass."

Tenten kissed Shisui's cheek and giggled softly. "How do you know me so well already?"

Shisui squeezed Tenten's hand with his free hand. "I want to know even more about you."

"Tell me something about your life in Konoha and the people you know there." Shisui said as he continued to kneel with his sword raised watching the entrance to the hideout. "It's been awhile since I've been inside those gates. Has it changed much?"

"Physically no." Tenten whispered. "But, after the war most of the major clans were disbanded, so I lost a lot of my friends. Not including those who died in the war."

"What about Lord Minato's son?" Shisui asked. "He was in a coma the last I heard. Is he still living?"

"Naruto?" Tenten asked. She swallowed hard and then wrapped her arms around Shisui even tighter. "He's still alive, but he hasn't woken up. His mother and my good friend Hinata go to visit him almost everyday. But I haven't been back since right after the war. It's depressing to see someone so young completely incapacitated. And he was injured in the same battle that killed my friend, Neji."

"Neji." Shisui said that name thoughtfully. "You mumbled that name a couple of times that first night in the cave after you were attacked and were delirious. You must have been close… was he a boyfriend?"

Tenten paused. She never thought about her feelings for Neji too deeply. They had definitely been very close, but it was like a three sided coin with her, Neji, and Hinata. Hinata's presence had always made their relationship platonic, but she realized after he was gone that she had deeper feelings for him that were never explored. This had drawn her even closer to Hinata after the war. Hinata had her own regrets. She had not realized her feelings for Naruto until after he fell into the coma.

As the hokage's and Jinchuuriki's son, he was trained separate from the rest of them when they were in the academy. He was being prepared to become the next jinchuuriki after his mother. But apparently, he still managed to develop a secret crush on Hinata, which only furthered itself after they became genin. Hinata had been oblivious to this until he sacrificed himself to save her during the civil war. He told her then that he loved her. Those were the last words any of them heard Naruto speak.

Neji had not had anything so profound to say to Tenten before his death. He just lay in her arms and looked up at her as she comforted him. Then he passed away.

All of these regrets drove Tenten to follow all of her impulses when it came to Shisui. She had been so cautious with Neji that she had lost him even before he knew she loved him. She was not going to hold anything back from Shisui.

Finally, she said, "Something like that."

Satisfied that he was not followed, Shisui put his sword down and turned in Tenten's embrace. He said, "Well, he was lucky to have had your heart even just for a little while."

He kissed her, looking into her dark brown eyes. The sadness and loneliness that once existed there was gone, replaced by a vulnerable warmth that made his body quiver. He tilted his head slightly and deepened the kiss.

Tenten moved her arms from around his neck and placed her hands against his muscular chest. She rubbed her nose against his nose as they moved away from the kiss. She was not going to have any regrets with Shisui. She said, "I love you Shisui."

Shisui smiled down at her. "I love you too."

"Well…" said a deep voice from the hide out entrance. "I hate to break up the love fest, but I don't think I have the stomach for anymore of this."

They both looked up to find Kakashi standing above them.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter thirteen

Tenten stood up and moved to greet Kakashi. "Hi Cousin."

Kakashi nodded. "Cousin."

He eyed Shisui with his one visible eye. Seeing this, Tenten grabbed Shisui's hand and said, "Kakashi, this is Shisui. Shisui, this is Kakashi."

She moved her hand between them, but they both just stood there, sizing each other up. Of course, Tenten did not know that the last time these two came face to face during the civil war, they almost killed each other. But the tension between them could be cut with a knife.

Shisui spoke first. He extended his hand and said, "It's good to finally meet you... under better circumstances."

Kakashi took the hand and shook. Then not able to help himself, he replied sarcastically. "That's an understatement."

"So?" Kakashi placed his hands in his pockets and looked between the two young people. "What're your intentions with my cousin?"

Shisui looked back at Tenten. Then he looked Kakashi in the eye. "I want to ask your permission to marry her."

"Well you get straight to the point, don't you?" Kakashi replied. "So in the middle of being hunted by your uncle and your father, you plan to marry my little cousin?"

"We'll have the traditional ceremony that will make her status in the Uchiha clan official." Shisui said seriously. "It will be preformed by Dao, the Uchiha spiritual leader. I control over half of my clan now. And I am the rightful heir. I only brought Tenten here today to gain your trust and to seal an alliance between us –both in war and in blood. And if I have your permission, I plan to take Tenten back to my village to marry her. Once we're married, I will be recognized as a full citizen of the clan and I can stake my claim as clan leader. If I am backed up by the majority, Fugaku will have to step down or declare Owari da."

Tenten looked at Shisui alarmed. If Fugaku disputed Shisui's leadership, they would be forced to duel to the death. Owari da was the Uchiha's most controversial tradition. It had been outlawed in the Konoha because too many Uchiha died as a result of it... taking their sharingan powers with them. Shisui looked back at Tenten and squeezed her hand. Shisui's sharingan was said to be the most powerful to ever exist, maybe she did not need to worry.

Kakashi nodded looking at Tenten. "Let me talk to Tenten, alone."

Shisui smiled reassuringly at Tenten, and then walked out of the hide out to wait. Kakashi waited until Shisui was gone and then he turned back to Tenten. "Are you sure you love this kid?"

Tenten nodded. "Yes. I'm very sure."

"You didn't seem so sure the last time I asked you about Shisui."

"I was lying…" Tenten admitted to her cousin. "But I knew the first time I saw him that he was the one."

Kakashi nodded and sighed. "I know what that's like."

"So you're admitting now that Rin is your wife?" Tenten asked slyly, changing the subject on Kakashi.

Kakashi gave Tenten a quizzical look. "How do you know about Rin?"

"She befriended me right after you guys got married." Tenten replied. As far as Tenten supposedly knew, Rin worked in the hospital with Sakura. But she was perceptive enough to know that Rin's secrets extended beyond her marriage to Kakashi. Danzo controlled the ANBU, but there were many within the ranks who were still only loyal to Minato. And Kakashi had not been a part of the ANBU since before the civil war, but he always seemed to be two steps ahead of them. After learning about their secret marriage, Tenten always figured it was because of Rin. "I'm your only family after all, so she thought she needed to get to know me. She made me promise to never tell you -guess I broke that promise."

Tenten walked over to Kakashi and punched him in the right arm. "You picked a good one, Cousin. And thank you for caring… even if it is a bit annoying."

Kakashi saluted at Tenten. Then he walked over to the entrance and called out, "You can come back. She's convinced me. You can come get your future bride. And you have your alliance!"

Shisui reentered the hideout followed by Itachi, Baio, and Susake as well as four other Uchiha, who Tenten did not know. He shook Kakashi's hand again and then crossed the room sweeping Tenten up and off her feet, kissing her. "Our escort is here. We're going back to get married, today."

* * *

Tenten pulled Shisui by the hand, out into the night. They leapt through the trees under the full moon and the stars. Shisui had never felt so free and full of life as he did as he ran after Tenten, her hair loose and wild in the wind and her laughter echoing off the woods. His heart beat wildly in his chest. In just a few hours, she would be his, and he would be hers.

The other Uchiha ran quietly nearby, keeping watch on the couple, but giving enough space that they could not be seen easily. Shisui stopped and spun Tenten around, dancing with her among the branches. "Are you ready to be Tenten Uchiha?"

"More than ready." Tenten smiled up at Shisui. He brushed the strands of hair out of her face.

* * *

Tenten felt like her hair was being pulled out by the roots. Shisui had left her in a room full of young Uchiha woman, who were serving as her dressers and attendants. They removed all of her clothes, holding them as if they planned to take them to be burned. Then they scrubbed her from head to toe, spraying her with a lilac perfume. Next they pinned up her hair with hair extensions into a large fluffy bun with long strands combed down around her face and orchids weaved in and dripping with honey suckle down her back side. They painted her face with thick make up around hers eyes and mouth. She was draped in a silk white and red kimono. Tenten had never had any new cloths much less been this close to expensive silk.

"Come. Your groom is waiting for you." A young woman, named, Ahito, smiled at her, pulling her out of the dressing room into the main entrance of the small shrine. Shisui stood waiting for her, in a black kimono and black striped hakama. The uchiha symbols were tailored on to the sides of his arms. He turned as she entered the room to join him. His face changed, it filled with admiration and wonder. He said, "You look beautiful."

Tenets blushed. She had never been considered beautiful. No one had even said she was pretty. But the way Shisui was looking at her said everything, and she knew that she really was beautiful.

To her side, the group of eight attendants, who had helped her get dressed, stood waiting to walk out with her in pink silk kimonos. To Shisui's side stood eight Uchiha men, including his three cousins, in black tuxedos with badges containing the Uchiha symbol on their left arm.

Shisui took Tenten's hand and they walked out towards the altar together.

* * *

Tenten stood with Shisui in the garden of the Uchiha shrine after the wedding ceremony was over. They exchanged cups of sake, taking a private moment off to the side, after half the village showed up to the reception to pay their respects to the bride and groom.

"Fugaku will be here soon. Then I will make my statement. He will refute the claim and not long after the Owari da will begin." Shisui took Tenten's hands. He warned her. "You have to stand to the side and watch like everyone else. It will only make things worse if you try to interfere."

Tenten nodded at her husband. She would respect his wishes, even if she did not like it. She leaned up and kissed his lips tasting the sweet and sour taste of the sake. "Just make sure our first day together is not our last day together."

Shisui smiled, placing his hand on her face. "Hopefully, Fugaku will back down before it comes to that. But I have insurance in place just in case he does not. I have a feeling Danzo may try to make an appearance as well."

"Kakashi?" Tenten asked. Though he had not approached her yet, her cousin was among the guests at the reception. He was with Rin. Seeing them together in public was unusual, and meant something big was about to happen. There were other guests, who were not Uchiha, among the crowd. Tenten thought that they must have been those, who were secretly opposed to Danzo and sympathetic to the Hokage.

Fugaku and Fujio showed up to the reception about twenty minutes later. The rest of the village soon joined them, until the gardens were crawling with Uchiha. Neither of the Uchiha elders looked happy. Not only was Shisui not dead, but he had defied tradition and married an outsider for love in an official ceremony attended by the entire village. It was blatant disrespect.

Shisui took the next moment to stand up in front of the gathered clan and guests. He raised his hand. "Thank you for joining the reception to celebrate this day with us."

The crowd quieted down, listening to Shisui. "I also want to take this moment to say... as I am now considered a full fledge member of the clan, I plan to take my rightful position as clan leader –tonight!"

A large portion of the crowd cheered with excitement, though there were many who remained silent.

"Son. Don't do this…" Fujio started. Shisui knew his father was unaware of Fugaku's plans to kill him and likely his alliance with Danzo. But Fujio's loyalty to his brother was as unwavering as the loyalty between Shisui and his cousins. The tendency of their fathers to always back each other, even at the expense of their own children, had been one huge factor that had knit the four Uchiha cousins so tightly together. Fugaku, who stood with his sons near Shisui, interrupted Fujio's plea.

"No. Let him make his claim." The current leader said, unshaken.

Shisui smiled. "Do you concede then?"

Fugaku laughed. "Of course not. If you believe I would let this clan fall to an immature and impulsive fool like you, you really have no sense of reality. I challenge your claim!"

The crowd started to mumble. People looking at each other. The electricity between them becoming static. Soon a chant began. Starting like a hum, and then, growing louder until it took over the crowd. "Owari da!"


	14. Chapter 14

Shisui stood at the edge of the pit, created by a circle of Uchiha shinobi standing shoulder to shoulder without interruption. The pit was made larger than usual, in light of both men's use of mangekyo sharingan and their gigantic susanoo. The rest of the village crowded around the outside, stretching necks and climbing on fences and in trees to see.

The chant had not died down despite the time that passed since Shisui's challenge and Fugaku's acceptance. There was an air of electricity weaving through the crowd.

Shisui looked behind him and out into the crowd for his wife. He found Tenten sitting up in the branches of a nearby tree, her wedding kimono ridding up her thighs as she straddled a branch, and her intricate up-do was already disheveled and wild around her anxious face. Sasuke and Baio sat in the tree with her. He could tell they planted themselves, so she could not get down without one of them catching her first.

Itachi stood next to him within the circle as his second. His father, Fujio, stood across from them and next to Fugaku. Shisui narrowed his eyes at Fujio, who quickly averted his eyes in response.

"You should start with the sword." Itachi advised Shisui. "With your body flicker technique, you will have the upper hand in kenjutsu. And you can avoid his eyes during sword play. His one advantage over you is his genjutsu. Keep the flow of your chakra under fine control, so you can cut it off as soon as Fugaku tries to put you in a genjutsu. Last resort will be the susanoo. You will be equals then… maybe a slight advantage to you."

Shisui nodded at Itachi, taking his sword and unsheathing it. He looked at Itachi, placing his hands on his shoulders. "Don't interfere unless you see my father or Danzo interfere first. When you do, put them in the tsukuyomi… no mercy."

Itachi placed his hands on Shisui's shoulders. "Your father will attempt to use genjutsu subtly the entire time. He will only obviously interfere as soon as it appears Fugaku might lose."

Fujio could use genjutsu like Itachi, with and without his sharingan. But he did not have the mangekyo nor the ability to use the tsukuyomi. And that was what made Itachi's genjutsu, so much deadlier than the average Uchiha. Fugaku knew this, which is why Shisui was certain his aim was to not only kill Shisui but also he had finish off his oldest son too. He warned, "Watch your back. And don't interfere unless you have to."

Shisui flickered to the center of the circle and stood with his sword at ready, waiting for Fugaku to approach.

Shisui figured the first genjutsu would place Fugaku somewhere other than where he truly stood. He waited for the false Fugaku to approach. When the illusion lunged at him, Shisui cut the chakra flowing through his nervous system, releasing himself from the genjutsu and blocking the impact of Fugaku's sword as the true man appeared suddenly at Shisui's right.

Shisui flickered his body, building up speed as he went blow for blow with the Fugaku's sword. A second illusion doubled in on Shisui, he could tell this one was from his father. Fujio had already started to cheat. Fugaku dissolved into a swarm of killer bees which tore at Shisui.

Shisui released the build up of speed, creating multiple afterimages in his path as he weaved around the swarm. Some the afterimages were stung and destroyed by the bees, but most hacked their way through the insects with swords, destroying the swarm which dissolved back into Fugaku.

Shisui cut the chakra to his nervous system again, releasing the genjutsu. The true Fugaku was close to the periphery of the circle. He activated his mangekyo. Shisui responded by activating his own mangekyo.

Their susanoos blossomed up and above the crowd, made up of intensely colorful and solid energy. The circle moved back slightly as the awesome power pressed out against them. Shisui's susanoo was green with fiery eyes and a large drill blade appendage. Fugaku's was bright red with a long staff bladed at each end.

Both appeared halfway out of the ground housing their shinobi in chakra. Shisui attacked first, knowing that Fugaku had no long range attack. Chakra needles shot out of the green susanoo in a barrage at its red opponent, damaging portions of it. Fugaku's recovery was much quicker than most, however.

The red giant climbed up out of the ground, spun its long staff, slashing into the green susanoo. Shisui rammed the giant drill blade into the center of Fugaku's susanoo. The drill began to grind as the green susanoo stood up out of the ground, pushing Fugaku back.

Fugaku swung to the left and the right, slashing first one side of the green suasnoo's head, then the other. The drill however was doing much more damage than the his blades and even Fugaku's proficient chakra recovery, he was having a hard time keeping up with the damage.

Just as Shisui pushed Fugaku close to other side of the pit, the red susanoo split. One half running one way and the other half running the other way. Was this real? Or was this an illusion?

Shisui figured he should be resistant to general genjutsu in this form. But when did Fugaku develop the ability to control two separate susanoo?

Both Susanoo came at him, jumping up driving their bladed staffs downward. Shisui spun shooting one and then two needles out of his arms at the pair of red susanoo's heads.

The bladed staffs were driven in to the green susanoo, damaging it greatly. But Shisui was not done yet. He drove his drill into the Susanoo at his front, and then, he sent a barrage of needles out of his back at the susanoo behind him.

The smaller susanoo at Shisui's back was pinned into the ground and dissolved. The susanoo enduring the drill was having an even worse time than the original.

Fujio appeared in front of Shisui and the green susanoo. He shouted, "I CANNOT LET YOU DO THIS!"

The mangeyko activated in Fujio's eyes and a huge black flame appeared around Shisui's feet. Amaterasu.

Shocked, Shisui dropped Fugaku and backed away. His susanoo began to melt around him with the growing black flames. He had not been expecting this. Everyone thought Fugaku never allowed his younger brother to activate his mangeyko... until now.

On cue, Itachi entered the circle, appearing suddenly in front of his uncle. He said in a controlled tone, "And I won't allow you to interfere in this fight. Owari da is two opponents facing to the death."

Fujio stopped moving and appeared stuporous. His mangeyko deactivated, and he dropped to the ground where he stood.

The black flames dissolved as Fujio was trapped in the tsukuyomi.

Shisui sat up and looked over at Fugaku, who was lying on the ground bleeding, his legs broken. The amount of damage the green susanoo's drill had down to red susanoo had weakened its protection enough to injury Fugaku.

But even though the older man was clearly defeated, he was laughing, wickedly. Shisui knew right away something was wrong. He looked out into the crowd.

Sasuke and Baio had run up to the edge of the circle as soon as they saw Fujio enter. He looked beyond them into the tree. Tenten was no longer in the branches.

Shisui stood up. "Where is Tenten!?"

The crowd started to mumble and turn around, not quite sure what to make of the situation.

Shisui walked up to Fugaku, drawing his sword and placing it at his uncle's throat. "Where is my wife?"

Fugaku looked at Shisui, stifling his laugh. He responded, "If I die, she dies."

Shisui looked up at Itachi and gave him a questioning look. Itachi nodded at him. Then he looked back down at Fugaku activating his kotoamatsukami. He looked into Fugaku's eyes rifling through his thoughts. "Where is Tenten?"

"Danzo has her. He is taking her to Orochimaru in the land of sound. He will kill her unless you set me free and cooperate." Fugaku said this even though it was evident that it was not of his free will. "But I no longer want to be clan leader, so I will take you there."

Shisui sighed. He turned his sword around so the butt faced down and then he drove it into Fugaku's head, knocking him out. "Even with the kotoamatsukami, nothing Fugaku says is trustworthy."

Another Uchiha came running up to the pit and shouted into the circle. "Shisui! Kakashi and Rin have gone after Danzo and Tenten."

Shisui stood still and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. He tried to sense the mark that he placed on Tenten just a few days before. It had mostly faded, but there were traces still present.

Sasuke and Baio entered the pit now, approaching Shisui and Itachi as they stood over Fugaku's unconscious body. Baio, the largest of them, hoisted Fugaku up onto one shoulder. "We are going after her too, right?"

Shisui looked back and forth between his cousins and said, "Come on. We don't have much time."


End file.
